Musashi: Bushido Code (14 page)

"No, it's not that. It's—"

"Well, then, stop dawdling! Get your things together!"

"Right now? Wouldn't it be better to wait?"

"Wait for what?"

"Until . . . until Matahachi comes back."

"Absolutely not!" Her tone was final. "You just might start getting ideas in your head about other men before that. It's my duty to see that you don't misbehave. In the meantime, I'll also see that you learn how to do field work, care for the silkworms, sew a straight seam and act like a lady."

"Oh. I . . . see." Otsū had no strength to protest. Her head still pounded and with all this talk of Matahachi, her chest tightened. She feared saying another word lest she release a torrent of tears.

"And there's one other thing," said Osugi. Heedless of the girl's distress, she raised her head imperiously. "I'm still not quite sure what that unpredictable monk plans to do with Takezō. It worries me. I want you to keep a sharp eye on the two of them until we're sure Takezō is dead. At night as well as in the daytime. If you don't take special care at night, there's no telling what Takuan might do. They may be in cahoots!"

"So you don't mind if I stay here?"

"For the time being, no, since you can't be in two places at once, can you? You will come with your belongings to the Hon'iden house the day that Takezō's head is separated from his body. Understand?"

"Yes, I understand."

"Make sure you don't forget!" Osugi barked as she whooshed out of the room.

Thereupon, as though waiting for the chance, a shadow appeared on the paper-covered window and a male voice called softly, "Otsū! Otsū!"

Hoping it was Takuan, she hardly looked at the shape of the shadow before rushing to open the window. When she did, she jerked back in surprise, for the eyes meeting hers were the captain's. He reached through, grabbing her hand and squeezing it hard.

"You've been kind to me," he said, "but I've just received orders from Himeji to go back."

"Why, that's too bad." She tried to pull her hand from his, but the grip was too firm.

"They seem to be conducting an investigation into the incident here," he explained. "If only I had Takezō's head, I could say I had discharged my duty with honor. I'd be vindicated. That crazy, stubborn Takuan won't let me take it. He won't listen to anything I say. But I think you're on my side; that's why I've come here. Take this letter, will you, and read it later, somewhere where no one will see you?"

He pressed the letter into her hand and was off in a shot. She could hear him hurriedly walking down the steps to the road.

It was more than a letter, for a large gold piece was enclosed. But the message itself was straightforward enough: it asked Otsū to cut off Takezō's head within the next few days and bring it to Himeji, where the writer would make her his wife, and she would live amid wealth and glory for the rest of her days. The missive was signed "Aoki Tanzaemon," a name that, according to the writer's own testimony, belonged to one of the most celebrated warriors of the region. She wanted to burst out laughing, but was too indignant.

As she finished reading, Takuan called, "Otsū, have you eaten yet?"

Slipping her feet into her sandals, she went out to talk with him.

"I don't feel like eating. I have a headache."

"What's that in your hand?"

"A letter."

"Another one?"

"Yes."

"From whom?"

"Takuan, you're so nosy!"

"Curious, my girl, inquisitive. Not nosy!"

"Would you like to have a look at it?"

"If you don't mind."

"Just to pass the time?"

"That's as good a reason as any."

"Here. I don't mind at all."

Otsū handed him the letter, and after reading it, Takuan laughed heartily. She couldn't help but let the corners of her mouth turn up too.

"That poor man! He's so desperate he's trying to bribe you with both love and money. This letter is hilarious! I must say, our world is fortunate indeed to be blessed with such outstanding, upright samurai! He's so brave he asks a mere girl to do his beheading for him. And so stupid as to put it in writing."

"The letter doesn't bother me," said Otsū, "but what am I going to do with the money?" She handed Takuan the gold piece.

"This is worth quite a lot," he said, weighing it in his hand.

"That's what bothers me."

"Don't worry. I never have any trouble disposing of money."

Takuan walked around to the front of the temple, where there was an alms box. Preparing to toss the coin in, he touched it to his forehead in deference to the Buddha. Then he changed his mind. "On second thought, you keep it. I daresay it won't be in the way."

"I don't want it. It'll just cause trouble. I might be questioned about it later. I'd rather just pretend I never saw it."

"This gold, Otsū, no longer belongs to Aoki Tanzaemon. It has become an offering to the Buddha, and the Buddha has bestowed it on you. Keep it for good luck."

Without further protest, Otsū tucked the coin into her obi; then, looking up at the sky, she remarked, "Windy, isn't it? I wonder if it'll rain tonight. It hasn't rained for ages."

"Spring's almost over, so we're due for a good downpour. We need it to wash away all the dead flowers, not to mention relieving the people's boredom."

"But if it's a heavy rain, what'll happen to Takezō?"

"Hmm. Takezō . . ." the monk mused.

Just as the two of them turned toward the cryptomeria, a call came from its upper branches.

"Takuan! Takuan!"

"What? Is that you, Takezō?"

As Takuan squinted to look up into the tree, Takezō hurled down a stream of imprecations. "You swine of a monk! You filthy impostor! Come and stand under here! I have something to say to you!"

The wind was beating at the tree's branches violently, and the voice came through broken and disjointed. Leaves swirled around the tree and onto Takuan's upturned face.

The monk laughed. "I see you're still full of life. That's okay; that suits me fine. I hope it's not just the false vitality that comes from the knowledge that you're soon going to die."

"Shut up!" cried Takezō, who was not so much full of life as full of anger. "If I were afraid to die, why would I have just kept still while you tied me up?"

"You did that because I am strong and you are weak!"

"That's a lie, and you know it!"

"Then I'll put it another way. I'm clever, and you are unspeakably stupid!" "You might be right. It was certainly stupid of me to let you catch me." "Don't squirm so much, monkey in the tree! It won't do you any good, it'll

make you bleed if you've any blood left, and frankly, it's quite unbecoming." "Listen, Takuan!"

"I'm listening."

"If I had wanted to fight you on the mountain, I could've easily squashed you under one foot like a cucumber."

"That's not a very flattering analogy. In any case you didn't, so you'd be better off leaving that line of thought. Forget about what happened. It's too late for regrets."

"You tricked me with your high-sounding priest talk. That was pretty mean, you bastard. You got me to trust you and you betrayed me. I let you capture me, yes, but only because I thought you were different from the others. I never thought I'd be humiliated like this."

"Get to the point, Takezō," Takuan said impatiently.

"Why are you doing this to me?" the straw bundle shrieked. "Why don't you just cut off my head and get it over with! I thought that if I had to die, it'd be better to let you choose how to execute me than let that bloodthirsty mob do it. Although you are a monk, you also claim to understand the Way of the Samurai."

"Oh, I do, you poor misguided boy. Much better than you!"

"I would've been better off letting the villagers catch up with me. At least they're human."

"Was that your only mistake, Takezō? Hasn't just about everything you've ever done been some kind of mistake? While you're resting up there, why don't you try thinking about the past a little."

"Oh, shut up, you hypocrite! I'm not ashamed! Matahachi's mother can call me anything she wants, but he is my friend, my best friend. I considered it my responsibility to come and tell the old hag what happened to him and what does she do? She tries to incite that mob to torture me! Bringing her news of her precious son was the only reason I broke through the barrier and came here. Is that a violation of the warrior's code?"

"That's not the point, you imbecile! The trouble with you is that you don't even know how to think. You seem to be under the misconception that if you perform one brave deed, that alone makes you a samurai. Well, it doesn't! You let that one act of loyalty convince you of your righteousness. The more convinced you became, the more harm you caused yourself and everyone else. And now where are you? Caught in a trap you set for yourself, that's where!" He paused. "By the way, how's the view from up there, Takezō?"

"You pig! I won't forget this!"

"You'll forget everything soon. Before you turn into dried meat, Takezō, take a good look at the wide world around you. Gaze out onto the world of human beings, and change your selfish way of thinking. And then, when you arrive in that other world beyond and are reunited with your ancestors, tell them that just before you died a man named Takuan Sōhō told you this. They'll be overjoyed to learn you had such excellent guidance, even if you did learn what life was all about too late to bring anything but shame to your family name."

Otsū, who had been standing transfixed some distance away, came running forward and attacked Takuan in shrill tones.

"You're carrying this too far, Takuan! I've been listening. I heard everything. How can you be so cruel to someone who can't even defend himself? You're a religious man, or you're supposed to be! Takezō's telling the truth when he says he trusted you and let you take him without a struggle."

"Now what's all this? Is my comrade in arms turning against me?"

"Have a heart, Takuan! When I hear you talk like that, I hate you, I really do. If you intend to kill him, then kill him and be done with it! Takezō is resigned to dying. Let him die in peace!" She was so outraged she grabbed frantically at Takuan's chest.

"Be quiet!" he said with uncharacteristic brutality. "Women know nothing of these matters. Hold your tongue, or I'll hang you up there with him."

"No, I won't, I won't!" she screamed. "I should have a chance to speak too. Didn't I go to the mountains with you and stay there three days and three nights?"

"That has nothing to do with it. Takuan Sōhō will punish Takezō as he sees fit."

"So punish him! Kill him! Now. It's not right for you to ridicule his misery while he's lying up there half dead."

"That happens to be my only weakness, ridiculing fools like him." "It's inhuman!"

"Get out of here, now! Go away, Otsū; leave me alone."

"I will not!"

"Stop being so stubborn," Takuan shouted, giving Otsū a hard shove with his elbow.

When she recovered, she was slumped against the tree. She pressed her face and chest to its trunk and began wailing. She had never dreamed Takuan could be so cruel. The people in the village believed that even if the monk had Takezō tied up for a while, eventually he'd soften and lighten the punishment. Now Takuan had admitted that it was his "weakness" to enjoy seeing Takezō suffer! Otsū shuddered at the savagery of men.

If even Takuan, whom she'd trusted so deeply, could become heartless, then the whole world must indeed be evil beyond comprehension. And if there was no one at all whom she could trust .. .

She felt a curious warmth in this tree, felt somehow that through its great, ancient trunk, so thick that ten men with arms outstretched could not encompass it, there coursed the blood of Takezō, flowing down into it from his precarious prison in the upper branches.

How like a samurai's son he was! How courageous! When Takuan had first tied him up, and again just now, she had seen Takezō's weaker side. He, too, was able to weep. Until now, she'd gone along with the opinion of the crowd, been swayed by it, without having any real idea of the man himself. What was there about him that made people hate him like a demon and hunt him down like a beast?

Her back and shoulders heaved with her sobs. Clinging tightly to the tree trunk, she rubbed her tear-stained cheeks against the bark. The wind whistled loudly through the upper branches, which were waving broadly to and fro. Large raindrops fell on her kimono neck and flowed down her back, chilling her spine.

"Come on, Otsū," Takuan shouted, covering his head with his hands. "We'll get soaked."

She didn't even answer.

"It's all your fault, Otsū! You're a crybaby! You start weeping, the heavens weep too." Then, the teasing tone gone from his voice: "The wind's getting stronger, and it looks like we're in for a big storm, so let's get inside. Don't waste your tears on a man who's going to die anyway! Come on!" Takuan, sweeping the skirt of his kimono up over his head, ran toward the shelter of the temple.

Within seconds it was pouring, the raindrops making little white spots as they pummeled the ground. Though the water was streaming down her back, Otsū didn't budge. She couldn't tear herself away, even after her drenched kimono was clinging to her skin and she was chilled to the marrow. When her thoughts turned to Takezō, the rain ceased to matter. It didn't occur to her to wonder why she should suffer simply because he was suffering; her mind was consumed by a newly formed image of what a man should be. She silently prayed his life would be spared.